Comfort --RWRB College AU

17. Comfort

The orange sunlight shines through the ceiling-to-floor window, casting the living room in a gold haze. The smell of bakery and roast chicken floats in the air, adding to the homey atmosphere.

After their town trip, Alex takes Henry all around the house to distract him from thinking about the family dinner. They dust all the photos hanging on the walls, while Alex tells the stories behind each one. Henry takes out his phone to snap a shot when he finds Alex making funny faces in the photos. They clean the old bookshelf in Alex's room, one filled with Alex's old AP books and papers. Henry chuckles when he sees the cartoons Alex drew on his papers and takes some of them to put in his bag. "For teasing you in the future." Henry says. Alex rolls his eyes.

"You can play guitar?" Henry finds a guitar hanging on the wall in the study. The strings are colored with rust. The body is littered with stickers and paintings with some scratches at the corners.

"A bit of hobby. I didn't tell you?" Alex walks over and takes down the guitar. "This is my only babe before you." He flashes Henry a grin, cleaning the guitar with a cloth.

Henry chuckles. He sits down on the floor, propping his chin on his palms, watching Alex tuning up the guitar. The curly-headed boy is half sitting on his desk, lowering his head to look at the strings. His sunflower-like eyelashes flutter.

Henry imagines a young Alex here, with the guitar in his hand. He would idly strum a chord, hum with it maybe, grabbing the pencil on his desk to jot down some idea of melodies and lyrics on his homework. The curtain would be loosely closed and a strand of sunlight would peak into the room, landing on his arm.

"You're insecure." Alex's voice pulls Henry back instantly. The gentle strum continues, creating a vibration in the air. He looks straight into Henry's eyes, not hurried in singing the next line. Henry looks back and smiles, the warmth is coming from deep in his heart. Alex knows he loves this song and he knows he knows he knows.

Alex smiles back, his eyes crinkling. The following lines flow out. Instead of the upbeat energetic original version, Alex chooses a more soothing version. It's like a secret confession between the two, or some sweet nothings spoken into the lover's ear.

Henry still remembers watching the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony. He was only eight or nine back then. The band was on the truck circling the stadium, singing and dancing and clapping, showing the whole world what freedom and youth should be like. Like fireworks in that pitch black night sky, the feeling of freedom stays in Henry's mind. He's never a big fan of hip hop music, but this song is always somewhere in his heart, encouraging him to pursue the freedom he loves.

Even though the style is totally different, the song still shouts out freedom. Without a rigid beat, without the hyping melody, it's just a lover's confession. It conveys a totally different feeling but Henry still falls for the freedom.

"That's what makes you beautiful." The guitar sound stops suddenly as the string is covered. Henry smashes their lips together, arms coming around his neck. It's a long and loving kiss, no one is rushing, it's a confession.

"Alex hun! They're already at the crossing. Come downstairs when you're ready!" Ellen's voice comes from the hallway downstairs. "Coming!" Alex shouts back, still holding Henry. "Let's go?" He lowers his head to kiss the tip of Henry's nose.

Henry averts his gaze, unconsciously playing with the curls at the nape of Alex's neck. "What should I-" "Be yourself." He pecks Henry's lips. The blonde boy still has his eyebrows furrowed. Alex cups his cheeks and attracts his attention. "Hey look at me, babe."